What coffee has been tested for mold and pesticides?

December 16, 2025 •

3 min read

According to some industry sources, a significant portion of the world's coffee is grown for mass production, often containing trace amounts of mold, mycotoxins, and pesticides. For those seeking greater clarity, understanding what coffee has been tested for mold and pesticides is key to making an informed choice about your daily cup.

Quick Summary

Explore brands rigorously tested for mold, mycotoxins, and pesticides, prioritizing third-party lab verification and transparency. Learn about specialty-grade and organic options for a cleaner cup.

Key Points

Third-Party Testing: Brands like Purity Coffee, Natural Force Clean Coffee, and Lifeboost Coffee utilize independent labs to verify their products are free of mold and pesticides.
Mycotoxin Concerns: While mycotoxin levels in most coffee are below regulatory safety limits, some brands offer extra assurance through specific mycotoxin testing.
Organic Certification: Opting for USDA Organic coffee, like that from Natural Force or Lifeboost, significantly reduces the likelihood of pesticide exposure.
Sourcing and Processing: High-altitude growing and careful 'wet processing' are methods used to naturally minimize mold growth, a common practice among specialty coffee producers.
Transparency is Key: Brands that openly publish their lab results, such as Natural Force and Mindful Coffee, provide consumers with the most confidence in their product's purity.
Specialty Grade vs. Commodity: Specialty-grade coffee undergoes a rigorous quality assessment that includes checking for defects like mold, unlike cheaper commodity-grade options.

The Rise of the Clean Coffee Movement

The demand for 'clean coffee' has grown as consumers become more aware of potential contaminants like mycotoxins (toxins from mold) and chemical pesticides. While regulatory bodies like the FDA set safety limits for these substances, certain brands have gone a step further by implementing their own stringent testing protocols to offer a product free from these compounds. This movement prioritizes sourcing, processing, and storage methods that minimize contamination risk from the start.

Brands Known for Testing Transparency

Several companies have established themselves as leaders in the clean coffee space by providing transparent testing results, often from third-party labs. These brands generally prioritize organic farming, high-altitude growing conditions (which can reduce mold), and careful processing.

Purity Coffee

Purity Coffee is a health-focused brand that uses 100% organic, specialty-grade Arabica beans and provides extensive third-party lab test results for mold, mycotoxins, and pesticides. They custom-roast to preserve antioxidants and offer different roasts and even decaf options. The brand also holds various certifications, including USDA Organic and Smithsonian Bird Friendly.

Natural Force Clean Coffee

Natural Force stands out for its full transparency, making its Certificates of Analysis publicly available on its website. Their USDA Organic, specialty-grade coffee is tested for over 150 pesticides, 13 mycotoxins, heavy metals, and more. The beans are grown at high altitudes and shade-grown to reduce mycotoxin risk.

Lifeboost Coffee

Founded by a chiropractor and nutrition expert, Lifeboost Coffee offers organic, low-acid beans that are third-party tested for over 400 toxins, including mold, pesticides, and heavy metals. They source their beans from Central American farms, where they are sun-dried and dark-roasted.

Mindful Coffee

Mindful Coffee is another brand that champions transparency, with public lab test results available on its website showing no detectable Aflatoxin or Ochratoxin A. It is certified organic and sourced as a single-origin coffee from Honduras.

What to Look for in a Clean Coffee

When evaluating coffee brands based on their testing and sourcing, consider the following key factors:

Third-Party Lab Testing: This ensures that testing is performed by an unbiased, independent party, lending credibility to the results.
Transparency of Results: Reputable brands often make their Certificates of Analysis (CoAs) publicly available online.
Organic Certification: USDA Organic and similar certifications mean the beans were grown without the use of most synthetic pesticides and fertilizers.
Specialty-Grade Beans: These beans score 80+ points out of 100 and have been professionally assessed for defects, including mold.
Growing and Processing Methods: High-altitude, shade-grown sourcing and careful processing techniques like wet processing can naturally minimize the risk of mold growth.

Comparison of Tested Coffee Brands


Brand	Third-Party Tested?	Tested for (Examples)	Transparency	Organic?	Other Certifications
Purity Coffee	Yes	Mold, mycotoxins, pesticides, heavy metals	Lab results available on website	Yes (USDA)	Bird Friendly, B Corp
Natural Force	Yes	Mold, 13 mycotoxins, over 150 pesticides	Public CoAs on website	Yes (USDA)	Rainforest Alliance
Lifeboost Coffee	Yes	400+ toxins, mold, pesticides, heavy metals	Limited public results, states tested	Yes (USDA)	Rainforest Alliance
Mindful Coffee	Yes	Mold, Aflatoxin, Ochratoxin A	Public lab results on website	Yes (Organic)	-
Bulletproof Coffee	Yes (Proprietary)	Mold	Testing is proprietary	Claims organically grown	Rainforest Alliance

Conclusion

For consumers concerned about mold and pesticides in their coffee, a growing number of brands are offering peace of mind through rigorous testing and transparent sourcing. By choosing certified organic, specialty-grade options from companies like Purity, Natural Force, and Mindful Coffee, you can minimize potential exposure to contaminants. While research suggests that mycotoxin levels in most coffee are typically low and not a significant health concern for the average consumer, opting for a tested brand is a proactive step toward a cleaner, more controlled coffee experience. Always look for brands that provide clear evidence of their testing practices and prioritize sustainable, quality-focused production methods.

Frequently Asked Questions

Brands known for testing for mold and mycotoxins include Purity Coffee, Natural Force Clean Coffee, Lifeboost Coffee, Mindful Coffee, and Bulletproof Coffee, among others.

No, organic certification primarily addresses the use of synthetic pesticides and fertilizers during farming. It does not automatically guarantee that the coffee has been tested for mold or mycotoxins, which can develop during processing or storage.

Mycotoxins are toxic compounds produced by certain types of mold and can potentially contaminate coffee beans during drying or storage, especially under humid conditions.

While roasting can reduce the levels of mycotoxins in coffee beans, it does not eliminate them completely. The reduction percentage varies based on the temperature and duration of the roast.

To choose a cleaner coffee, look for brands that offer third-party lab testing, disclose their results publicly, and use high-quality organic, specialty-grade beans. High-altitude, single-origin sourcing and specific processing methods like wet processing can also indicate a cleaner product.

Specialty-grade coffee scores 80 or more points on a 100-point scale and is assessed for defects, including mold, by certified professionals. Commodity coffee is lower-grade and often produced with less stringent quality controls.

Claims can vary, so it's important to look for brands that are transparent about their testing process and make their lab results available. Relying solely on marketing claims without evidence is not recommended.

Some individuals report feeling unwell from regular coffee, which they attribute to potential contaminants like mold. However, most mycotoxin levels are below safety limits, and individual sensitivity can vary.